Cookie Crumble's Journal
'Journal Entry #1 (Session 2)' Today was good. After that whole debacle at the wedding and a somewhat too close encounter with the most rancid dog I’ve had the misfortune to meet, I happened to run into an old... acquaintance of mine. To be fair, I’ve forgotten much of my life in Fillydelphia, probably because I didn’t start writing things down until now. I do however remember one stallion, he was a total asshole but I kind of owe a lot to him. When I first left home I didn’t know much. I was a baker, not a rogue. As much as I hate to admit it, I wasn’t up for life on the streets. My only marketable talent was baking, which I resented. Soon I found myself running low on food, living off the money I stole from my parents. I soon decided that if I couldn’t find work legally, I’d rather find some work illegally rather than return to that hellhole of a home. I quickly found I had an aptitude for picking pockets. It wasn’t too difficult as long as you kept quiet and moved quickly, two things my new (somewhat food deprived) build were well suited for. I lived off this for about 2 weeks before I met the pony who turned me into a full-blooded rogue rather than a small time thief. It’s a good thing he was the first one to catch me. I was terrified when he did, though I was doing jail time for sure. Instead he just smiled, told me to come with him. Said I had potential. Next thing I knew I was training under his wing. The training was harsh and painful, but it was either get through it or go back to being a pickpocket. And if he could catch me then feasibly anypony could. I had to get better. There were many tests. Stealth, agility, even trapfinding. When I failed he was cruel, when I succeeded, indifferent. By the time we were finished I was bruised, beaten, exhausted, and probably half dead from the traps. I resented everything about the stallion who put me through it, and my training was complete, at least in my eyes. It was time to move on. That was years ago. The training made me into a regular Daring Do, but I never tried to find the stallion again. I moved into (mostly) legal, albeit shady, work as a rogue for hire. I’d never expected to run into again, but it’s a small world after all. I’d just split off from my new advnturing party for some alone time, and there he stood. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do. Luckily he started the conversation for me. “You never finished your training.” He didn’t seem particularly angry, but he was always hard to read. “I don’t think I needed to” “I disagree” All of a sudden he was right next to me. I’d forgotten how good he was at this. “You left before the last lesson. I prepared to draw my blades, only to be embraced in a bear hug. “What the hell are you doing?” “Giving you your last lesson,” he stated. “Remember this. The connections you build as a rogue are far more important than the loot. I think you’d know better than anyone that wealth is the last thing you need to be happy.” “How do you know about my past?” “I have my sources” Why was I not surprised. “By the way, I don’t think I ever got your name.” “And you never will, at least until you become as good as me.” I held up some bits. “I believe these 20 bits from your bag say I already am.” He looked angry for a second, then chuckled. “Fair enough. Next time you’re in Fillydelphia look me up. The name’s Jib Sail. Comes from a seafaring family.” “The only seafaring families from Fillydelphia were pirates.” He just chuckled again. “Good to see you kept up with your history. May we meet again.” Just like that he was gone. A quick check of my saddlebag told me the 20 bits I stole were gone as well. Bastard never let me keep the rewards from his lessons. I thought about the ponies I’d just been adventuring with and his final lesson. I took a few hours for self-reflection, to figure out what he meant. I think I came to a conclusion. Connections may be valuable, but nopony gives something for nothing. Travelling companions may be good for protection, but that’s all they’re good for. If I’ve learned one thing over the years, it’s that getting attached only makes things more complicated. And complications leads to getting caught. That was lesson number one. I think that’s enough for today. I have a quest to get back to. '~Cookie' 'Journal Entry #2 (Session 3)' I think that in light of recent events, I may need to re-evaluate the importance of connections. It started with the mayor telling us to go into that Celestia forsaken forest. Why did I go in there? Every group I’ve ever adventured with refused to go near that place, and I went in for some bits and membership in a crusade I barely care about, and I almost got killed for my efforts. If it weren’t for my friends acquaintances I’d probably be dead. As I was walking back to town through the forest, I thought about my experience at Broken Bough. It had been unpleasant to say the least. All of a sudden I was frozen, and then that thing was right up next to me. I barely got a chance to move and next thing I knew everything went black. Woke up to see Frostfire standing over me with a potion. Now on one hand, this means I’m alive, which is convenient because I’m not dead. On the other hand, now he’s done more for me then I have for him. Which means I owe him a favor. I hate favors, almost as much as I hate this damn forest. I checked on my silver again, and picked up my pace. No one thing about this forest bothers me. I’ve fought my share of creatures before, and the darkness is my best friend. But there’s somethig about this place that unsettles me, keeps me on guard. I bet it wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t gone back on my own it wouldn’t be this bad. I’ve come to another conclusion. I still don’t want friends, or at least I don’t want favors. But if there’s anything I need, it’s connections. I think this experience made is painfully clear that going it alone just won’t cut it anymore. ~Cookie 'Journal Entry #3 (Side Quest)' I’m writing this from the temple of Applejack, where I’ve just watched the members of the clergy burn their own stores to the ground. I can’t rightfully say I blame them, I might of done the same in a similar situation. Not sure what they’ll do without the stores, but I’m sure they’ll persevere. After all, that’s what Applejack would do. It all started when I got back in town after the forest incident. Being understandably exhausted, I decided to head back to my room and recuperate. Unfortunately, I got a little sidetracked. See when I got to the inn, I noticed somepony odd in the room. He just sat there, observing the room. His hood hung down over his face, making him impossible to identify. The weird part is that no one seemed to notice him. The derving filly would ust passed him bye, in fact after he left she didn’t believe he was there at all. It was weird, like I was the only one who thought he existed. Who knows, maybe he didn’t. Maybe I’m crazy. Wait, that’s silly. This is getting into my head. Anyhow, I went over and talked to him. He claimed he was part of some secret rogue organization, “The Blackwatch”. Apparently my mentor had something to do with it, but the important part was that they had a job for me. Apparently someone stole a glass buckatar from them (That is valuable for some reason, despite being a weapon made of glass) and old Jib Sail said I was the one to get it back. I got a few bits and a blue gem in advance payment, and went off to the Temple of Applejack the next morning to retrieve the buckatar. I was told it could be found in a secret tunnel under the old barn they used as a storehouse. Had I known what was down there in advance, I probably would’ve demanded a lot more up front. Of course I didn’t, so down into the tunnel I went. At first it all seemed relatively normal for a secret area. A few traps to disarm, dark as all hell, etc. etc.. I thought all was going relatively well until I came to the cage room. There were 5 cages, each with a large chunk of meat inside to feed whatever was usually kept there. For now they were empty, so after a near capture I moved on. The next occurrence was when I came to the room in which two ponies were talking. One went by the name of Coil, the other went by Licorice. By the sound of it Licorice was the one who nearly caught me, and Coil was an accomplice. There was mention of somepony by the name of Whistler, who apparently was the one in charge of taking care of whatever was kept in the cages. I never saw him. Coil left to go search for me, and Licorice soon followed after grabbing something. When I went inside the room i discovered two things, an empty box (presumably containing whatever Licorice had taken) and a book containing a picture of a unicorn’s head, with black and midnight blue colours. I think it was meant to symbolize the night. Around this point in the adventure things started to go sour. After a minor slip up my presence was revealed, and I had to kill madcoil. At the time Licorice had seem to disappeared, but from what I heard Coil yelling she stole some of his gear and left. He believed it was because she was “chosen” I was reasonably concered at this point, and moving quickly. Something was definitely off here, and my suspicions were confirmed when i came across a portcullis.What I saw on the other side is now scarred in my mind forever .There was an altar there, lit by torches. Upon it was a pony’s decapitated head, it’s eyes gouged out and the sigil of Applejack emblazoned across its forehead. There were words engraved on the altar, something like “Darkness rises”. The sight revolted me, and made me very sure that these ponies were indeed worshipping some kind of night deity, possibly Nighttime Eternal. At this point I was eager to leave, but before I did I checked one last room, sealed by a nail. Inside I found a pony who had been imprisoned there. Later she told me her name was Dragonlily, and that she’d been kidnapped by diamond dogs and brought here. At the time all she wanted to know was what happened to her sister. i couldn’t tell her. She claimed there was something in the cell next to her, that she was very afraid of. I left her in a secure room and checked it out. That was a mistake. Inside was a creature that looked just kike the Herald of the Eclipse, but turned out to be the Herald’s sibling. It said it was a Lacridaemon, a creature that told me it was “The spirit of those who die alone and forgotten. We weep for them Would you like to see?” It then cried acidic tears onto it’s hooves, and broke the door dividing us down. I understandably ran and fetched the prisoner, then I dashed for where I hoped the exit was. The Lacridaemon said that it would leave me alone to go after the one that bound it. On the way out the prisoner and I came across the cult’s coffers, where I found a bag of odd silver bits that made me feel very uneasy. I also obtained the glass buckatar I was sent to procure, but at the time I didn’t feel like celebrating. I heard a scream, and then silence, so I went to check it out. I found Licorice’s corpse. Apparently she had something to do with the Lacridaemon. I found some odd kind of puzzle box, and when I initially tried to open it I heard music coming from somewhere. Something seemed to pull at me, but I shook it off. I quickly took Dragonlily and left, and we told the clergy what happened. Next thing I knew I was writing a journal by the light of a burning barn. Funny how life works. I’ve taken some time, and I think I’ve made sense of a good portion of our quest using what I’ve learned here, and the gist of it is that the lunar cultists seem to be behind everything. Dragonlily told me she was kidnapped from Ponyville by a diamond dog, meaning that they were working together with the ponies. The attack at the wedding was also by ponies and diamond dogs, and one of the dogs was tainted. His friend said he was “chosen” as well. Incidentally, it was probably excessively violent diamond dogs like the one I interrogated who were being kept in those cages. So these lunar cultists seem to be choosing ponies from their own ranks to be tainted, for one reason or another. The sacrifices are then used to summon Lacridaemons, which is why there was one in that cell right after Dragonlily’s sister bit it. One of these Lacridaemons was the Herald of the Eclipse, a title which seems to support his affiliation with these cultists. This association is also supported by the Herald’s sibling being summoned and the fact that there seemed to be two entirely different kinds of ponies with the Herald. I propose that the group of ponies that disappeared were tainted, and the ones that died were not, which meshes with the practices of the lunar cultists, paricularily the system of “choosing” ponies. If I had to guess at an end-goal I’d say this: The book and inscription at the altar suggest that these ponies worship a deity of the night, possibly Nighttime Eternal. They hoped to use the Herald of the Eclipse (Eclipse the sun) to bring about eternal night. Of course this is a theory, and there are still many unanswered questions. Who are the Blackwatch, and why does this buckatar mean so much to them? Why did licorice betray Madcoil? Where is the second Lacridaemon, and what is it after? Where is Whistler, and what the hell is in this puzzle box? Even when I find answers, they only serve to create more questions. In a little less than 2 weeks i’ll collect my payment from the blackwatch. Maybe then I’ll find out more. My party can probably help with all of this, but how much do I want them to know? I guess the best thing I can do is figure out what to do with this puzzle box, and yet that’s beyond me. I know so much and am absolutely flummoxed. I guess a good night’s sleep might clear my mind. Thinking more about it now doesn’t seem to be helping, so might as well actually take a bit of time to recuperate. Tomorrow is another big day. ~Cookie 'Journal Entry #4 (Session 4)' I find myself becoming more... distracted from my work lately. I’ve been less focused on practical matters. My thoughts seem to be drifting back to issues from my childhood. I’m wondering what might of happened to me if I’d have stayed, even if I don’t want to think about it. My mind just keeps going back and constructing scenarios. What would I even be doing today? So much of my life has been based around my work, but if I had stayed I’d just be a regular baker. What would I have done with all the extra time? Maybe I would’ve had time to actually socialize, make some friends. Do what my mentor wants me to. Of course I would’ve never met him. I’d be far too busy doing rich people things with Crumpet. I always hated all of the manners and being forced to talk to those snobs, I don’t miss it. I wouldn’t be a regular baker, I’d be a noble-pony. Baking would be a hobby at best, and I’d have never met my mentor or found my real true calling. I suppose they did love me though. I guess I do miss them sometimes, especially Crumpet. She was the only one who noticed when I started sneaking off at night, and even though she was jealous because of my baking skills she didn’t tell. I feel like I should’ve said something to her before I went for good. Maybe I can make up for it sometime if we come across each other. I wonder how much she’d changed. She was still in school when I left, but now she must be all grown up now. She`s probably moved out, found a job. Maybe she went into baking, maybe found something a little less on the up and up. Who knows what shes done, she might not even be in Fillydelphia anymore. Maybe she found somepony, settled down. I've never really thought about how much I've missed before. (Tear stains dot the page) I need to be thinking about the current issue. We'll be escorting those Temple of Applejack guys to Appleoosa tomorrow, and the odds of me getting their barn burned down not getting mentioned are zilch. The only thing I can control is how much to reveal. Most of it is relatively harmless for them to know, and it might be beneficial to ask them about that book I found, as well as the Lacridaemon. I know that they’re lunar cultists, but I might be able to find out more. And what will that Lacridaemon try to do? What does this freaking puzzle box hide? I don’t know, but what I do know is that I can’t mention the blackwatch. I like these guys, it’d definitely be a good group for me to get into. I’m still a bit suspicious though. I might not want to mention the,. but finding out about the buckatar can’t hurt... I need to take time to figure out how much they need to know. So I guess this is it for today. ~Cookie 'Journal Entry #5 (Session 5)' WHY AM I SO DAMN DISTRACTED? I can’t think about anything, NOTHING! I got my family in my head and I can’t get them out for the life of me, and I fucked up EVERYTHING today because of it. From the moment I got on that caravan my mind was gone, GONE! I was trying to read over my notes for the sixteenth time, and I couldn’t even hold the damn book right. Frosty went and called me out over it, so I ended up telling more than what may have been best. Then the little bitch was eyeing my silver, THAT’S MY SILVER. My precious, precious silver. I don’t even want to talk to anyone today, people are just trying to take advantage of me, just like my family. I wasn’t their daughter, I was their tool. Same with these guys, just after my stuff. Never should’ve told them about that sidequest, they just want the silver. We’re all short on crowns, who wouldn’t want a few extra? And speaking of my family, I really need to cut my ties to them, emotional or otherwise. I could barely sleep last night (which actually had the upside of letting me hear that chanting), my mind just kept going back to the same things. I almost got the entire group killed because of it. Trying to see what was going on back there, but my mind was just somewhere else... ------------ It was about 2 or 3 weeks into my training. I was starting to get used to the mentor’s tricks, although there was a side effect of me being a little on edge. I was always expecting another test, they came all the time. One once came when I was at an inn, he just moved some stuff around in my room to see if I would notice. And booby-trapped everything that seemed off. Lesson 13: Trapfinding. I was skulking about one night, looking for a target. Someone with deep saddlebags and no sense, and the goods to keep me fed another week. I was moving up on a well dressed unicorn, not my usual targets (since I was always a little paranoid about their magic) but she looked promising. I was about to reach into her bag when there was a loud noise off to my left. I froze in place, terrified of being caught a second time. My mark turned to see what the disturbance was. Oh Shit Oh Shit Oh Shit Oh Shit. This better not be one of that idiot’s tests. The mark managed to avoid seeing me somehow, thankfully. However it was clear there was someone else out here tonight, probably the mentor teaching me something about being trailed or something. I had to catch him off the guard. I sped up my pace to a brisk trot, and then slowed down again, listening carefully. I heard hoofsteps following me in time. There was no point turning, any tailer worth their salt would not be caught so easily. I’d have to be more crafty than that. I dashed down a sidestreet, then into an alley before they could catch up. When they reached the end of an alley, I was already on a roof looking down on them. The pony looked to be a lot smaller than expected, almost a filly. A cloak covered their body and face, and they moved much less cautiously than anypony else set upon me by the mentor. Something here was off. They passed under me, and a leapt upon them with a small tumble to stabilize. They jumped, and moved to grab something, but there was already a sword to the back of their neck. “Freeze. One move and I make you into a shish-ka-bob.” “Well, that’s an awfully nice way to greet your sister.” Crumpet turned and smiled. “By the way, thanks for the sarcasm lessons. “Although I’m a few weeks behind since you left.” “Oh come on, I do not sound like that.” I rolled my eyes. “Now what the hell are you doing out this late, it’s not safe.” “Well I could say the same to you, couldn’t ?” Crumpet retorted. “Is it safe for you? Running off and living on the streets? What are you doing for money? Who’d taking care of you? What happens to your fam-” “I don’t have a family Crumpet. I’m not going to be a baker and noble pony because mom and dad want it, and I’ve taken care of myself perfectly well through my own means. Besides, as you may have noticed I can defend myself just fine.” “Then show me.” Now of course I couldn’t tell her I was training as a rogue and robbing people, I mean she’s my little sister. But I had to convince her I was taking care of myself. With a believable job. That I did at night. And was qualified for. Yeah, this wasn’t going to be easy. Of course, it never was with me. What followed was a long, long night of making shit up as I went, although it went surprisingly well. First we wandered around until I saw a store that was actually open, at which point I strode in, knocked out the only guy there, and pretended I ran the place. I of course had Crumpet wait outside until I’d hidden the body, and since I felt bad I only took some of the bits he’d made. Hey, got to survive on something, right? To this day I’m not sure what the business did, there was no product on the shelves. Luckily Crumpet never asked. Soon the sun was beginning to rise. I pretended to lock up the store and we left for home, on the pretense that we should get her home. She smiled the entire way. I still remember the last words I heard her say to me. “Your family loves you Cookie, and you’ve made quite a life for yourself.” We were coming up to the cobblestone walk of the house I once called home. “If you ever want to talk, we’ll always be here.” We turned up the walk. “I don’t suppose you’re coming in?” I looked up at the house, where my empty life had been, and where I’d been forced into a calling I didn’t want. I looked up at the home where my loving family lived, and where the memories of a privileged childhood were contained. It was all I couldn’t do not to weep. “No Crumpet, I don’t think I am.” “Then I guess I’ll see you when I see you” I started walking back down the path, but stumbled when I heard Crumpet’s next words. “One more thing Cookie. Good luck with the rogue stuff.” I then saw the familiar cobblestone path, one last time, rushing towards my face. ------------ It took me a moment to realize the falling wasn’t part of the memory, rather it was part of real life. That hurt a lot. Not quite as much as some of the hits I’d take in the ensuing fight, but a lot nonetheless. Anyhow, we all got dragged into a big ass fight. Except for Dusky, who somehow manages to sleep through EVERYTHING! My freaking god i want to kill him sometimes. Or all of the time. Probably the latter. God damn it Dusky. Alright, I think that’s all for today. To-do list is now deceptively simple, at least for now. Figure out puzzle box and guard silver form traitorous untrustworthy acquaintances. Oh, and get some kind of better ranged weapon. Spears hurt. Also, guard silver. Think I said that already, but can’t forget that. They’ll take it first chance they get. ~Cookie Crumble 'Journal entry #6 (Session 6)' Wow, things have just been, well, they’ve been pretty crazy. I look back on my journals of the last few weeks, and I can’t believe what I was turning into. Not because it was some crazy inequine thing, but because it was just me, pushed a little bit further. Just crazy old paranoid me, with an actual motivation to be paranoid, and I went insane. To think of how close I’ve been to the brink this whole time, it sends shivers down my spine. If it weren’t for Penumbra bringing me down (Damn it, I owe her one now) Frosty or I might have ended up dead. I guess I owe her another one for helping me with that puzzle box, although I’d still be hopelessly staring at it. And another one for helping me make sure I didn’t die from poison and getting the crap beaten out of me. I need to almost die less, or next thing you know I’ll owe more favors than a mafia snitch. And now poor Frosty has the bag, which frankly terrifies me. I know nothing about Frosty or how she’ll react to this silver, and despite the fact that she stole it from me, I find myself worrying about her. And how I’m going to get my money back when she’s almost as paranoid as I was. But mostly about her. Only time will tell how exactly she’ll react, although I assume she’ll just go bat-shit insane like I did. Actually, I just remembered. There was something else in that bag, some stone with a spell on it. Divination I think. What was it Frosty said it was? Something starting with an S... Oh right, it was a scrying spell, Scrying spell... FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU- I AM THE WORST FREAKING ROGUE EVER. THEY WERE TRACKING ME. THE WHOLE DAMNED TIME! (Illegible scribbles follow) Wait a minute, why would they want to track me? And more importantly, who are they? Come to think of it, I stole that silver. It wasn’t even meant for me in the first place. Which brings up an entirely different question. Who was it even meant for? Well, I got it from that complex under the temple of Applejack, when I was trying to get that glass buckatar back. Why the hell would even steal a glass buckatar? It’s inherently useless. It is a weapon. Made of glass. I can’t stress that enough. Unless the cultists didn’t want it in the first place. Maybe this silver was meant for me, or at least for someone actually from the blackwatch. They didn’t have any use for that thing, but the blackwatch wanted it back, and I just happen to find this cursed silver in the same place? Suspicious as innocent whistling. They knew the blackwatch would send ponies to get it back, but what if the cultists wanted that all along? With that crazy compulsion spell, they’d bring it back for sure, to the headquarters. The cult could track it there, and find the place. Not a good thing for an organization of rogues. Except I was able to break free of that spell so easily, and I’m not even magical. What kind of villain comes up with a plan that fails so easily? It’s ludicrous. Of course, if they stole a buckatar just so the blackwatch would steal it back, why not make a plan that was supposed to fail? What would happen if the plan did fail? They wouldn’t have any reason to keep the silver, so they’d spend it. It’s end up in circulation. A hundred compulsion spells being passed around. A hundred ponies under the control of this cult, this cult of Nightmare Moon. Only when broke free did I see her face on every piece. It’d be far too late And of course, this is just one bag. Nothing to stop them from making more. Distributing them everywhere. It’d look like the blackwatch’s fault too. Everypony under the control of the makers of the bag, they could discredit Luna like that if they wanted, and so much more. Sure, some ponies might be able to fight them, to break free of the spell, but for everyone that did, a dozen won’t. What hero would slay his kin by the hundreds to try to save the few that remain? Eternal night would be just a command away. This is more serious than just Frosty. Far more. We have to get that bag away from her, find out where and how exactly it was made, and make sure there’s not more floating around. It could be anywhere. Ponyville, Manehatten, Stalliongrad... Fillydelphia. This needs to be stopped. Now. for the sake of Equestria. Soon we’ll be in Appleoosa. I only hope to find answers there. ~Cookie Crumble 'Journal 7 (Session 7)' Another week of travel on this caravan to Appleoosa, and I’m nervous as hell. I have no idea what could be happening in Ponyville, or anywhere for that matter, and I can’t do anything until I get back. My only lead is that the Blackwatch might know more about these cultists, they seem to be enemies. I just hope to get in and out of Appleoosa as quickly as possible, there’s not much we’ll be able to do from there, unless something to do with the cultists shows up. I told the others what I thought about the silver. Getting more suspicious of Penumbra, she’s very distrustful of, well, it seems most everyone. She badgered Cactus Rose for a long time, and we practically had to force the loot we found from that fight with the shadowponies on her. She keeps acting like this, and I might not be so open to share what I find. The one thing I got out of telling her about the silver was the realization that it may have the power to corrupt other silver. I’ll need to test this next time I get my hooves on legitimate silver. I still don't know how to feel about that mask we found. 20 bits says I end up dead in my sleep because of it. Frosty seems more distant lately. That silver turned me into a maniac, it dosn't look like it had much effect on her while she had it, but she seems even more withdrawn than usual now. I hope she’s doing alright. As I write this, I don’t know what she’s doing. We’re just riding along to Appleoosa, and I only hope we get there quickly. Of course, if my experiences have taught me nothing else, it’s that it’s never quite so easy as that. ~Cookie Crumble Journal 8 (Session 8/9) I hate variables. I hate them so much. They only complicate things. Unknowns, they just create unnecessary risk. I mean, it was bad enough having Penumbra and Dusky and Oakhoof, but at least I KNEW them. I could trust them, as much as it was safe to trust another pony. Then they all ditched and Frosty and I were left in Apploosa on our own. Oh well. Good riddance. Oakhoof was the only one who was ever that helpful to me anyhow. That was my mindset going into Apploosa anyhow. Last thing I needed was more unknowns. For their sake and mine. . Now there was two ways in my mind to avoid taking on more travellers. Actually tell them why they shouldn’t come (They’ll most likely die), or just be a bitch to everypony. The latter was just easier. And surprisingly natural. I actually liked one of the ponies I met, Maple something or other, but I couldn’t have her coming with me. . Then everything got really, really suspicious. I go to the market to sell things and Jib, of all ponies, is there. And if Jib is ANYWHERE, something big is happening. Always. And of course later that day we get attacked, but I’ll get to that. Anyhow, he gave the seal of approval to two ponies. I still didn’t want them involved. I objected. Then suddenly, screams. I think it was Frosty’s fault. Actually I’m nearly sure it was. I mean, it wasn’t my fault, and who else does things. . Besides the point, we got attacked by those shadow ponies again, which was bad for several reasons. One, I got knocked out immediately, and two, if dragged Maple and Sol into the entire mess. Combined with Jib’s reccomendation, I really couldn’t refuse them at that point. Frosty and I clearly weren’t capable of handling things on our own. So, after everypony nearly dies, i told them the whole story. And I thought that was it for the day. But then, two things happened on the caravan. I saw that symbol again, the one from the (Figure out where it was from). After Jibb left, on somepony in the caravan. Wicker, I think. I’ll have to watch out for them. The other thing is that somehow, Glittlergleam, from the wedding, is involved in this. She was in Apploosa right before the attack, according to Frosty. I don’t trust it. I don’t really trust must of anything. . I can't remember the last time I trusted much of anything, actually. ~Cookie